PTSB ups tech investment plan to €150 million

Permanent TSB (PTSB) said on Thursday that it is committing a further €50 million to its technology investment plan, increasing the size of a programme that it started two years' ago to €150 million.

The increased investment comes as PTSB is in talks to buy a large part of Ulster Bank's loan book and some of its branch network. However, it is unclear whether PTSB will end up taking over deposit portfolios of Ulster Bank because of concerns over the technological execution of such a transaction.

"We are preparing for a significant expansion of our customer base over the coming years, greater customer use of our digital services and further enhancements to the customer experience," said PTSB chief technology officer Tom Hayes.

"Customer usage of our App and web services has increased exponentially over the last number of years and we've seen over a 30 per cent increase in customer online usage of everyday banking services over the last year alone."

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As part of the existing programme, PTSB has partnered with EY and global service integration providers Infosys and Finacle, accelerating the development of digital services for customers, including current account opening via the bank's App, which is launching next month.

"The new digital process will allow customers to apply for a current account online in less than 10 minutes and will be a market leading digital offering in Ireland, offering a seamless on-boarding journey for customers," PTSB said.